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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26894815">The Highest Degree</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Transformers: Prime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2017-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2017-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:18:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,077</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26894815</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Unfinished draft, but it's got spunk</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Soundwave (Transformers)/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Highest Degree</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As soon as i closed the front door I heard my mother yell from the living room.</p><p>“Where the hell have you been?” she slurred.</p><p>I looked at my watch and rolled my eyes. 4pm. She was diving into the liquor early today.</p><p>“I was at the store,” I replied.</p><p>“The TV went out again so i’m going to need you to fix it.”</p><p>The living room was disgusting as always and i kicked a beer can as i entered. She was laying on the couch with a half empty bottle of whiskey dangling from her fingers. </p><p>“Why can’t your boyfriend do it?”</p><p>“Stephen is busy working and he doesn't have time. Stop complaining and do as i say.”</p><p>“When i turned 18 two months ago, I legally became an adult. That means i’m no longer your slave you know.”</p><p>I met her eyes and watched as she glared something fierce at me. If looks could kill.</p><p>“Claire just fix the TV then go upstairs! As long as you're under this roof you will follow my rules.”</p><p>“Yes mother,” i sighed.</p><p>I set my bag by the doorway and walked over to the TV. There was already a stash of tools next to the ancient machine due to the fact that it broke down every other week. Roughly five minutes went by as I popped open the back and reconnected a wire that was almost completely burned away. Having a 32 year old TV that was on its last leg was probably my fault, if i was being honest. Why get something new when Claire can just fix the old one? It was my mom’s motto. </p><p>I pressed the power button and left when i saw the picture come through. She mumbled something but i ignored it and ran upstairs to my room at the end of the hall. <br/>It was the smallest in the house and only had a mattress, bookshelf, and closet, but the door had a lock and the window was in the perfect place for sneaking out. I kicked my shoes off, took my laptop out of my bag as well as the bottle of water i had bought earlier and layed down on my lumpy mattress. </p><p>The letters on my laptop glowed red as it turned on. The gaming laptop was probably the most expensive thing i owned and i hadn't even paid for it. No one would’ve used it properly anyway so the mall should be thanking me for taking it off their hands.</p><p>The extremely powerful processing chip powering it ensured that i wouldn’t be bothered by lag when i was doing my extracurricular activities—also known as hacking. It was probably my favorite thing to do when i wasn’t coding games for a part time living. After high school my mother had prevented me from leaving on the first bus out of Spanaway, Washington. Instead of living it up at college and pursuing a degree in computer engineering, I was here in my prison doing chores while my mother and her slew of boyfriends terrorized me. </p><p>The only thing keeping me going was my promise of freedom one day. I worked at an internet cafe as tech support and sometimes dabbled in gambling myself. I was rather good at it and had amassed a stash of winnings combined with all my paychecks. I almost had enough to finally leave and get a small apartment in Seattle. It was all hidden in a shoebox under old clothing in my closet. All i had to do was play the waiting game and deal with my circumstances for just a bit longer than i could leave forever.</p><p>Once everything was up, i jumped into the forums i called an online home. Here hackers, crackers and everyone under the sun could interact. Almost immediately a private message popped up my screen. That was odd, people didn’t message me that much. </p><p>Anon: Hello Sh4dowF0x</p><p>Sh4dowF0x: Who is this?</p><p>Anon: Forgive me, but I’m rather new here. I don’t have a name yet. I was just talking with others on here and i’ve come to the conclusion that you’re the best of the best in the hacking world. </p><p>This definitely looked fishy. He might be someone with law enforcement so i needed to tread carefully.</p><p>Sh4dowF0x: Define best</p><p>Anon: You hacked into the Pentagon last month. You didn’t steal anything though. It looked more like a show of your skill.</p><p>I had to admit i did that because i was only bored, but i guess it did show off my skill. There were breaking news reports for weeks talking about a national crisis. All because i was bored and wanted to see if i could crack their rather ‘rudimentary’ security system.</p><p>Sh4dowF0x: Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t. No one can prove it was me.</p><p>Anon: Who else could it be?</p><p>Sh4dowF0x: Not me</p><p>Anon: Alright fine. I just wanted to come here and see if you were up to a little challenge</p><p>Sh4dowF0x: What challenge?</p><p>Anon: The CIA Black Files</p><p>Red Flag! Major red flag!</p><p>Sh4dowF0x: You’re crazy. Those are locked up like Fort Knox. Besides I don’t care for government files. I only hack things like Farmville and GTA. If you’re looking to hire someone then i suggest you look elsewhere.</p><p>Before he could respond, i jumped out of the chat and blocked him. I had no idea what that was, but i needed to lay low for a while. If i ever got caught…prison didn’t sound fun. I spent the rest of my day talking to some people about computer engineering and how much i was excited to get into the field. People on here were very friendly if you knew where to look and i usually stayed away the hardcore secretive guys.</p><p>I heard the front door slam and then a loud yell. That was Stephen and it sounded like he was already drunk. That was just wonderful. Choosing to ignore it, i kept messing around on random forums until i got another message. This one on the other hand looked much more legit than the last.</p><p>0NYXH4Z3: I hear you're good. Match?</p><p>He was challenging me to a friendly match huh? Those were pretty normal. Hackers challenged others to a game to see who could break through site’s firewalls faster. </p><p>Sh4dowF0x: Sure. You pick the location.</p><p>This guy was good! We spent the next hour or so hopping from site to site and breaking down security. He was incredibly fast but i always managed to stay one step ahead of him. I had to admit he was a beast though.</p><p>0NYXH4Z3: You are remarkable. I’ve never met anyone who could take me on like this</p><p>Sh4dowF0x: I thought you had heard i was good. Surely my reputation precedes me? You knew what you were in for.</p><p>0NYXH4Z3: I’ll admit i didn’t believe the rumors, but now i see it's true. </p><p>Sh4dowF0x: Well now you know</p><p>0NYXH4Z3: Who picks the next one?</p><p>I started to answer but before i could i heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. Stephen! They didn’t know i had this laptop and if they did they would probably sell it for a profit. I shut it quickly and hid it under my mattress and laid back down. He tried the doorknob first and i jumped up to unlock it before he got mad.</p><p>“Hi Stephen.” </p><p>He had his hand raised mid knock but lowered it when he saw me.</p><p>“Claire, why was the door locked?”</p><p>“I was getting dressed.”</p><p>“You don’t look it.”</p><p>“Well i had just started. What did you come up here for?”</p><p>“Did you sass your mom earlier?”</p><p>“What? No.”</p><p>“So she lied to me?”</p><p>“No…”</p><p>“Then what.”</p><p>“I just protested fixing the TV.”</p><p>“You don’t ever talk back to an adult. Not her and especially not me. Do you understand.’</p><p>I watched him flex his arm and i involuntary swallowed. </p><p>“Yes sir.”</p><p>“Maybe you need to be taught another lesson. It’s been a while since i gave you one.”</p><p>He leaned closer and breathed in my face. It took all my strength not to cough at the overpowering smell of alcohol. </p><p>“No thank you,” I hated when my voice came out quiet.</p><p>“That’s what I thought. If you want dinner tonight then you’re gonna have to eat out of the trash.You can eat when you learn respect.”</p><p>And with that he turned and stalked back down to the living room. I shut the door and locked it again then went back to my bed. I buried my face in my hands and took a deep breath. </p><p>“You’re better than them Claire. They’re awful people and they just want to tear you down. You will not cry. You will not,” I whispered to myself.</p><p>I shifted my weight and felt my laptop under me. Opening it up i saw that i was still in the chat with that guy.</p><p>0NYXH4Z3: Who picks the next one?</p><p>0NYXH4Z3: ?</p><p>0NYXH4Z3: Hello?</p><p>0NYXH4Z3: Did you die or are you just scared I’ll beat you?</p><p>I had almost forgotten him, but figured it would be best to just end it there.</p><p>Sh4dowF0x: I’m sorry but something came up. I’m not really in the mood to match anymore.</p><p>0NYXH4Z3: Oh that’s too bad, I was having fun. I’ll see you around?</p><p>Sh4dowF0x: Sure.</p><p>After that i logged out and put my computer away. People come and go on the internet so i probably wouldn’t see him again, but I suppose I liked his optimism. I looked out the window at the snow on the ground. Thank goodness it was winter so it got darker early. It wasn't very late, but i could still sneak out. They were probably already starting their nightly alcohol binge so no one would find that i was gone. </p><p>I grabbed my bag and checked for all the necessities: my laptop, a notebook, an envelope full of my last paycheck in cash (i didn’t trust banks), and a fleece shirt in case i got too cold. Before i left i made sure to unlock the door in case someone decided to break it down. I then climbed out the window and walked along the roof til jumping down onto a lower ledge. The TV glowed through the front window so I knew they were too engrossed in it to even think of me.</p><p>My headphones blared 80s music in my ears as i walked down the road. We lived in a horrible neighborhood, but people left me alone for the most part. I still carried a knife in my pocket in case someone tried anything. </p><p>I stopped at a small store and bought a sandwich since i wasn’t getting dinner any other way. I must’ve walked for 20 more minutes before i came upon McChord Air Force base. They rarely patrolled their borders and there were plenty of places to hang out outside so i loved going there. There was a hill sheltered by trees that overlooked the airfield. It was perfect. I laid against a tree and ate while watching a plane do maneuvers in the sky. I could just make out the flashing red lights on its wings as it flew in circles. I wondered what it felt like to fly around in the clouds like that, to be so free.</p><p>Ever the computer addict, I once again pulled out my laptop just to play around. I didn’t have an wifi out here, but i luckily had a coding program already downloaded on there. I guess you could say i was a nerd since i found coding practice programs to be fun. It was something that occupied me and helped me get better at my craft so i welcomed it. I had no idea how long i sat there typing endless string of number on my screen when i suddenly heard a jet engine. The airfield had emptied out a long time ago so i had no idea who it could be. </p><p>I lowered my screen and watched as a silver jet landed on the tarmac and a group of men walked out to meet it. Something didn’t feel right. Packing up my stuff, i got up and inched closer to see what was going on. Someone was yelling up at the jet as if they were telling the pilot to exit. What happened next...I couldn't explain it if i tried</p>
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